Closet shelf assembly



Nov. 12 1968 w. N. FLETCHER CLOSET SHELF ASSEMBLY Filed May 12, 1966United States Patent 3,410,231 CLOSET SHELF ASSEMBLY William N.Fletcher, Lathrup Village, Micl1., assignor to Ternes Steel Company,Roseville, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed May 12, 1966, Ser. No.549,602 8 Claims. (Cl. 108-30) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shelfconstruction comprises a telescopic support bar affixed to the frontedge of a shelf board and secured by sharp cleats formed on wallbrackets to horizontal shelves formed on such brackets, the bracketshaving sharp cleats to penetrate the walls and hold the assembly inplace.

It is the object of this invention to provide a shelf assembly that issimple in construction, adapted for compact shipment as a kit, easy toinstall, adjustable to various width closets, strong enough to provide agreat resistance to sagging of the shelf, positively braced againstpull-out from the wall, and preferably includes a flange for supportingcoat hangers as an added feature of the structure. The inventionaccomplishes this by means of a telescopic support bar afiixable to thefront of the shelf board and adapted to hold end brackets in place onopposite walls, the brackets having means for attachment to the boardand walls.

The invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred form of shelfassembly according to this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation taken from the right of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial section along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a section along the line 44 of FIGURE 3 and in additionshowing the shelf assembly secured to a wall of a closet.

The shelf assembly construction 1 comprises a flat rectangular shelfboard 3 which has a vertical front edge 5 to which is attached anadjustable hanger and support bracket assembly 7. The board 3 hasvertical side edges 9 and 11 to which are attached shelf supportbrackets 13 and 15 which, in turn, are attached to the walls 17 of thecloset and provide the means for supporting the entire assembly 1.

The shelf board 3 is preferably a particle board that is dunensionallystable and which doesnt warp, crack, splint, or have knots, suchmaterial being fabricated and available on the open market, the materialNovoply sold by United States Plywood Corporation being suitable. Theshelf assembly 1 may be shipped as a standard size kit and the board 3can then be readily cut to the desired length, depending on closetwidth, at the site of installation.

The hanger support bracket 7 comprises two sections 7a and 7b whichtelescope together making the bracket 7, as a whole, adjustable inlength to suit the width of the closet. Prior to shipment the section 7ais preferably secured to the board 3 while the section 7b is shippedassembled but not fastened for attachment at the site of installation.The sections 7a and 7b are rolled from thin sheet steel into the shapebest seen in FIGURE 3 and their combined length is sufficient to spanclosets of widely varying widths up to the length of shelf 3 that may beadequately supported without sagging. The sections overlap at 19 to agreater or lesser degree depending upon the closet width when theirshelf engaging sections 21 are se- Patented Nov. 12, 1968 cured to thefront face 5 of the shelf 3 by means of screws 23 that extend throughsuitable holes in the sections 21. The top edges of each bracket section7a and 7b has a right angle flange 25 which fits on the top surface 27of the shelf and helps to square up the assembly of shelf and bracket.Extending away from the bracket section 23 at an angle is a section 29and it is reversely bent at 31 into a section 33 that terminates inanother reversely bent curved section 35. As seen in FIGURE 2 thesection 35 serves as a bar for the hooks of coat hangers 37. The shapeof the hanger bar 7 and its attachment to the shelf 3 is such as toprovide a relatively large moment of inertia to increase the rigidity ofthe shelf assembly and prevent it from sagging.

The end support brackets 13 and 15 are stamped from a flat piece ofsteel so that each has an upper flat vertical face at 39 and a bottomflat vertical face at 41, which form a flange or flat section that fitsflush against the vertical surface of the wall 17. Between the upper andlower faces 39 and 41 the metal is rolled into a shelf support sectionwhich includes the horizontal portion 45 which extends at a right anglefrom the upper face 39 and the inclined section 47 which extends at anangle to the lower face 41. As can be seen in FIGURE 4 the ends of theshelf 3 rest upon and are supported by the bracket section 45. Shiftingof the board along the surface 45 is prevented by spurs or tangs 49which are sheared out of the face 39 to project at an angle to it, beingin the form of a triangle so that they will slice into the ends of theboard 3 when it is pressed down on the shelf 45.

In addition to screws 51 which extend through holes in lower section 41,the brackets 13 and 15 are secured to the wall surface by triangularlyshaped cleats or tangs 53 and 55 that are sheared out of the verticalface 39 of each bracket to extend in the same plane as the horizontalshelf section 45. The cleats 53 at opposite ends of the brackets areslightly longer than the intermediate cleats 55 and the points thereofwill engage the face of wall 17 first, after which horizontal pressureon the bracket will force the cleats 53 and then the cleats 55 into thewall to furnish support for the bracket, as seen in FIGURE 4.

The ends of the section 39 of the brackets 13 and 15 are pointed as seenat 5'7 and project a slight distance beyond the front edge of the shelfboard 3 to provide shoulders for abutment with the outer ends of thehanger bracket sections 7a and 7b. When the hanger support bar section7b is adjusted to closet width and then screwed to the shelf board 3, italong with section 7a and the board 3 act as a solid strut between thetwo wall brackets 13 and 15 to positively prevent either of them frompulling out of the walls 17.

In use, the various parts are shipped as a kit with the bar section 7aattached to the shelf board 3. When it is desired to install the shelfthe wall brackets 13 and 15 are secured to the walls 17 and the distancebetween them measured. The board 3 is cut to this length and presseddown on tangs 49 to seat on surfaces 45. Then the bar section 7b istelescoped over section 7a until it engages end 57 and screwed to thefront face 5 of the shelf 3. The shelf assembly is then firmly anchoredin place on the walls 17 and ready for use.

Modifications may be made in the structure shown without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A shelf support bracket for attachment to a vertical Wall comprisinga one piece sheet metal member having a vertical flange section to fitagainst a wall, said member being deformed to provide a channel sectionof triangular cross section intermediate the top and bottom of theflange section, said channel section having a top surface that extendsat a right angle to said flange section and forms a shelf supportingsurface, said flange section having at least one spur sheared out of itand extending at an angle to it for embedding in the end of a board supported on the shelf, said flange section having at least a pair of sharpcleats sheared out of it and extending at a right angle to it and in adirection opposite to that of said shelf surface and adapted topenetrate a wall and attach the bracket thereto.

2. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment tospaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted toextend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, aboard supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and forattachment to a Wall, and a board support bar affixed to the front ofthe board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends injuxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets areattached to said walls and serving by abutment with said brackets toprevent them from disconnection with said walls, each said bracketcomprising a member having a flat section to fit flush against a walland a horizontal shelf section integral with but extending at a rightangle to said flat section, each said bracket member having at least onevertical section integral with and extending at an angle to said flatsection and located above said horizontal shelf section and embedded inthe end of the board when the board rests on said shelf section.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein said vertical sectionis tapered in width with the widest portion at the bottom thereof tofacilitate penetration of the end of the board by the vertical section.

4. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment tospaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted toextend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, aboard supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and forattachment to a wall, and a board support bar affixed to the front ofthe board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends injuxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets areattached to said walls and serving by abutment with said brackets toprevent them from disconnection with said walls, each said bracketcomprising a member having a flat section to fit flush against a walland a horizontal shelf section integral with but extending at a rightangle to said flat section, each said bracket member having a pointedhorizontal wall penetrating section integral with and extending at aright angle to said flat section and in a direction opposite to that ofthe shelf section, each said bracket member having a first pair of equallength pointed wall penetrating sections adjacent each end of thebracket and a second pair of shorter pointed wall penetrating sectionsintermediate said first pair.

5. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment tospaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted toextend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, aboard supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and forattachment to a wall, and a board support bar aflixed to the front ofthe board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends injuxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets areattached to said walls and serving by abutment with said brackets toprevent them from disconnection with said walls, said board support barcomprising two overlapping sections adjustable in overall length, eachsaid bracket having a member with a flat section to fit flush against awall and a horizontal shelf section extending at a right angle to saidflat section, said bracket having at least one vertical sectionextending at an angle to said flat section and embedded in the end ofthe board when the board rests on the shelf section, said bracket havinga pair of pointed horizontal wall penetrating sections extending at aright angle to said flat section and in a direction opposite to that ofthe shelf section.

6. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment tospaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted toextend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, aboard supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and forattachment to a wall, and a board support bar atfixed to the front ofthe board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends injuxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets areattached to said Walls and serving by abutment with said brackets toprevent them from disconnection with said walls, each said bracketcomprising a one-piece sheet metal member having a vertical flangesection to fit against a wall, said member being deformed to provide achannel section of triangular cross section intermediate the top andbottom of the flange section, said channel section having a top surfacethat extends at a right angle to said flange section and forming a shelfsupporting surface.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein said support barcomprises two overlapping sections adjustable in overall length.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said flange sectionincludes at least one additional sheared-out sharp cleat extendingparallel to said pair of cleats and shorter in length, the cleats insaid pair being of equal length.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,793,036 2/ 1931 Whitney 21 1-123 2,870,916 1/ 1959 La Bonia 108-30 3,120,309 2/ 1964 Goettl 211-1233,207,100 9/ 1965 Peacock 248248 X 2,720,316 10/1955 Glascott 211-123 XFOREIGN PATENTS 2,398 Great Britain.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

